I'm Not Too Concerned
by Violetrose93
Summary: When Paul runs into Dawn in Lilycove City, he feels as though the universe is out to get him. Why else would the one girl who somehow managed to get under Paul's skin keep showing up in the most unexpected places? Ikarishipping oneshot.


**Ikarishipping! I tried writing this entirely from Dawn's perspective, but I felt like there wasn't enough emotion getting across, so I decided to try and delve into Paul's mind a bit. If you like this, please review. Thank!**

Dawn breathed in deeply, relishing the crisp morning air. The sun had barely crested the horizon but Dawn was already up and moving. Dawn hoped to make it to Lilycove City by midmorning, so she'd have plenty of time to register for the contest. It was the last one before the Hoenn Grand Festival, and Dawn still needed one more ribbon to qualify.

"You ready, Piplup?" Dawn asked the penguin pokémon cheerfully. Piplup squeaked in agreement, hopping up and down in excitement. Dawn threw her head back and laughed, letting the wind blow through her long hair. She'd gotten rid of her hat the first day in Hoenn. May had forgotten to mention just how hot it was here, a huge change from the cool Sinnoh weather Dawn had grown up in. Now her hair fell loose, hitting just past her shoulders, and gleaming midnight blue in the sunlight.

"Alright Piplup, let's hurry. I don't want to miss the registration," Dawn said, speeding up. Piplup squeaked and tried to keep up, but its short little legs couldn't handle the new pace.

"Whoa!" Dawn cried, catching Piplup before it could fall. "I'll just carry you for a while, okay?" Dawn told Piplup, laughing. Piplup chirped gratefully and nuzzled against Dawn's neck, who giggled.

Unbeknownst to Dawn, she wasn't the only one on the road that early in the morning. Behind her, a tall, surly looking boy with long purple hair was making his way to Lilycove City as well. Paul Shinji watched the girl in front of him carefully, wondering how many times fate was going to throw her in his path.

Paul had intentionally left Sinnoh and come to Hoenn to try and avoid her. Whenever he was around her, he found himself softening slightly, opening up. For Paul, that was unacceptable. After he'd gotten off the boat in Hoenn, Paul had felt his old self returning. He'd figured by the end of his second circuit in Hoenn, he'd be able back to normal.

Then he saw her on the road to Lilycove.

"Dammit," Paul muttered, wondering how long it would take her to notice that he was behind her. He would have just hung back and let her get far enough ahead that she couldn't see him, but there had been reports of bad storms coming in from the west. They probably wouldn't hit until tomorrow, but Paul wanted to be safely inside a pokecenter room even before that.

In front of him, Dawn was tossing her Piplup up into the air, both of them giggling ridiculously every time Dawn caught it. Paul hadn't even realized pokémon _could_ giggle, but there was no other word for the high pitched, irritating shrieks coming from that Piplup. At least Dawn had a nice laugh.

_Stop that_, Paul told himself fiercely. That type of thinking wouldn't win him any gym badges. Not that there were any in Lilycove City. There was a contest hall, of course, but that didn't matter. It wasn't like he was in the habit of going to watch contests or anything.

_Absolutely not_, Paul told him. _And besides, it's not like you know she's going to be competing. She could already have five ribbons._

But she didn't. Paul had been, unwillingly, he tried to convince himself, keeping track of her contests on television. He knew that Dawn needed one more ribbon to enter the Grand Festival, and he also knew that the Lilycove City contest was the last contest before the Grand Festival. He wondered idly if Dawn knew that.

Paul felt like slapping himself in the face. What was wrong with him? This was getting ridiculous. He started reciting strategies over in mind, trying to work through complex battle situations in an attempt to ignore the graceful figure in front of him. And it almost worked, too. They both were almost to the city when Dawn dropped something. She bent to pick it up, and as she stood up, she caught sight of Paul behind her.

"Paul?" Dawn called, starting to walk towards him.

_Dammitdammitdammit_.

He kept his silence, watching her get closer. He decided that he would speak as little as possible, hoping she'd get the hint and move on.

"Paul!" Dawn said happily. "I didn't know you were in Hoenn, too." She moved as if she was going to give him a hug, but seemed to think better of it. Instead of relief, Paul an odd pang of regret. Dear lord, he _was_ going soft.

"Do I know you?" Paul asked coldly, hoping he might be able to scare her off. Instead, Dawn just laughed, as if Paul was joking. The laugh caused an odd, tugging feeling in Paul's stomach, and he actually grimaced. Dawn looked at him in concern.

"What's wrong?" she asked, setting Piplup down. Paul shook his head.

"Nothing," he replied, forgetting he was pretending not to recognize her. He started walking again, and Dawn kept pace with him, much to his discomfort.

"So . . . what's been going on? It's been a while, right?" Dawn said, her eyes impossibly blue.

Paul tried to swallow. "Yeah." And that was all he could manage. Dawn cocked her head and looked at him inquisitively. Paul sighed and asked, "How's the coordinating going?"

On the whole, he classified listening to coordinators talk about contests as a form of torture. But he'd rather listen to her babble on about nonsense than have to try and keep up a conversation with her eyes locked on his face like that.

Dawn did not disappoint. She was still talking animatedly about contest appeals when they entered the city. Despite the rather trivial subject, Paul found that he had grown to like the sound of her voice. It was light, almost musical, and every time she laughed, the tugging sensation in his stomach grew.

Panic flared inside him, and Paul looked around desperately for the pokecenter. He finally spotted its red roof peaking over the tops of buildings two streets over. It was like an island in a stormy sea for Paul. Relief coursed through him and he said brusquely, interrupting Dawn, "I've got to go." He tried to ignore the flash of hurt that spread across her face as he walked away without another word.

"See you later," Dawn called after him hesitantly.

_Dammit_.

After Paul left, Dawn felt as if all her energy drained away at once. She collapsed onto a nearby bench, staring at the ground miserably. Piplup looked at her in concern, hopping up onto the bench beside her.

"I'm okay, Piplup," Dawn said, sighing. "It's just . . . I don't know. Whenever I feel like I'm making any headway with Paul, he goes and acts like that. I probably sounded like an idiot back there. It's just so hard to find anything to talk about with him." Piplup chirped comfortingly, rubbing its head against Dawn's arm. Dawn laughed and hugged the tiny penguin pokémon.

"You're right. We have training to do. Who cares about Paul, right?" But as Dawn and Piplup headed out to find somewhere to train, a nagging voice in the back of Dawn's head whispered, _you do_.

Later, Dawn groaned, throwing herself onto the bed. The room was pretty standard for a pokecenter, only this time, Dawn had had the good fortune to get a room with a view. Outside, the sea stretched out as far as the eye could see, sparkling in the afternoon sun.

"What do you think, Piplup?" Dawn asked critically. "You think we should live here after we retire?"

Piplup squawked frantically and shook its head. The temperature shift Hoenn had almost been too much for the tiny pokémon, who preferred the colder temperatures of its home region. Lilycove City felt almost tropical this time of year. Dawn sighed happily and started humming. Piplup lurched clumsily around the room, trying to dance on its short little legs. Dawn laughed and caught the pokémon up in her arms. She danced around the room singing, twirling Piplup in her arms.

"Could you keep it down?" A harsh voice asked from behind Dawn. She spun, accidentally sending Piplup flying onto the bed.

"Paul! How did you get in here?" Dawn asked, feeling her face burn. She had probably looked like an idiot, and Paul had been there to see.

"You left the door open." Paul stared coldly at Dawn, although his mouth twitched slightly.

"Oh . . ." Dawn trailed off, unsure of what to say. She felt like she should apologize, but a tiny part of her, maybe pride, refused.

After a moment of silence, Paul said gruffly, "Just keep it down." Then he turned and left, heading back to his room.

After Dawn heard his door shut, she went over and slammed her door, relishing the loud bang the wood made. Then Dawn went over to the bed, laid down with her face in the pillow, and screamed in frustration.

In his own room, Paul heard nothing. He was too busy kicking himself for being such as asshole. _What's wrong with me_? Paul thought miserably, staring at his reflection in the window. When he first heard the singing, he had immediately recognized the voice. Curiosity led him to her room, where he watched her dancing with Piplup as if nothing else in the world mattered. She had been so . . . beautiful. There was no other word for it. The tugging in Paul's stomach had intensified until he felt as though he might actually tear in half.

_Even if you said anything, it's not like she feels the same way,_ Paul thought glumly. And why would she? Since day one, he'd been nothing but nasty to her. Not exactly the way to win over a girl. Paul briefly considered calling his brother, Reggie, and asking for advice. Reggie was better with people than Paul was. And infinitely better with girls. Reggie would know what to do.

Paul sighed. He already knew what Reggie would tell him to do. It terrified him, but Paul wasn't a complete idiot. Sighing, Paul walked back into the hallway and headed for Dawn's room. He knocked once and waited, listening for sounds of movement inside. Nothing happened, and he knocked again, unease stirring in his stomach. He fought the urge to run back and lock himself in his room.

Finally, Paul heard the lock click and the door swung open, revealing an displeased looking Dawn. The sight was so alien to Paul that it took him a second to collect himself. He tried to remember if he'd ever seen Dawn without her patented bubbly smile.

Paul cleared his throat, but when he tried to speak, nothing came out. Dawn tapped her foot impatiently.

"What do you want, Paul?" Paul cleared his throat a second time and tried again.

"Iwaswonderingifyou'dliketogotodinnertonight." The words must have gotten a little jumbled together, because Dawn looked confused.

"What?"

Paul took a deep breath. _Third time's the charm_, he thought.

"I was wondering if you'd like to go to dinner tonight."

Dawn's eyes went wide and darted from side to side, as if she was a cornered animal. Paul realized belatedly that he scared her.

"Um . . .tonight?" Dawn asked hesitated, looking anywhere but at Paul.

"Never mind, just forget it," he mumbled, turning away.

"No, wait! You just . . . surprised me," Dawn said. Paul turned back and saw she was trying to stifle a laugh. "Yes, dinner sounds great."

"Okay," Paul said, his knees suddenly feeling as though they might give out. He forced himself to keep an unaffected front, however.

"Seven?"

"Yeah, that sounds good."

"Okay." Paul hesitated slightly, unsure of how to leave. Dawn giggled.

"I'll see you later, then?"

"Yeah. Later." Paul made his escape, wondering if it was that difficult with all girls, or just her.

As seven o'clock drew near, Paul became more and more agitated. His hands kept twitching as he fought the urge to cut and run. It would infinitely easier to head out into some secluded field and train through the night. He had always thought being a pokémon trainer was the hardest thing out there. Apparently, being himself was worse.

Paul stepped into the lobby a little before seven, wondering if Dawn would think he was too eager. But then he saw that she was already there, sitting with her back to him in one of the armchairs near the door. Paul took a deep breath and walked over, his fingers still twitching nervously inside his jacket pockets.

Dawn had intentionally sat with her back to the stairs so she wouldn't look too desperate. In fact, she was still in shock that Paul had asked her out at all. _But not like that_, Dawn chided herself. _He probably just got homesick or something and I'm the closest thing to Sinnoh right now._ Although Dawn wasn't able to picture Paul homesick any more than she could picture him wearing a pink feathered boa.

When Paul tapped her lightly on the shoulder, Dawn was trying to keep from laughing. It turned out she _could_ picture Paul in a pink feathered boa, and her insides were twisting themselves into hysterical knots. Dawn jumped at Paul's touch, standing up quickly and turning.

Paul was standing there with his hands up, looking taken aback.

"Oh, sorry," Dawn said. "You just startled me."

"I shouldn't have snuck up on you," Paul said carefully. He was wearing a white button down, open at the collar, which Dawn had to force herself not to stare at. A pair of simple black paints and a jacket that looked like they had never been worn completed the outfit. Unbidden, the image of that damn pink boa came to mind, and Dawn had to vehemently beat down a giggle.

"Yeah, you shouldn't have," Dawn grinned, shooting Paul a playful look. He just stared at her blankly. Dawn sighed internally. "Anyway, are you ready?"

"I think I should be asking you that," Paul said somewhat ruefully. Dawn shrugged.

"Shoulda, woulda, coulda."

Dawn's words kept playing in Paul's mind. _I shouldn't have been such a jerk. I would probably not scare her now. I could actually have had a shot._ All throughout dinner, as Paul strained to keep up a conversation in which he wasn't pushing Dawn away, he couldn't escape from his internal monologue. By the time they started walking back to the pokecenter, he was absolutely miserable.

Dawn suddenly stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and put a hand on her hip, glaring at Paul. He tried not to notice how good she looked. Pink went really well with her hair, which was probably why she wore it so often. The dress was light and airy, and Paul had idly wondered if she knew that she looked like a princess.

"Look, what's the deal? You ask me out, and I say yes. But you've been weird all night, and you haven't said two words since we left the restaurant." Paul flinched. Evidently, Dawn's eyes could cut as sharply as a knife, and he didn't like being on the receiving end.

"I just—" Paul started to say, but Dawn cut him off.

"You know what? It doesn't even matter. Good night, Paul," she said walking past him towards the pokecenter.

Paul moved before he even knew what he was doing. He caught Dawn by the wrist as she passed him, pulling her up against his chest. He kissed her, trying to convey everything in that kiss that he couldn't find the words to say. When he pulled away, Dawn looked at him, seemingly frozen.

"Uhh . . ."

"Sorry," Paul said. "I shouldn't have . . ."

"No, it's fine. More than fine, actually," Dawn replied, her eyes wide. It took a second for her words to reach him. Paul realized they were standing off to the side, their arms wrapped around each other.

"Wait, so . . ."

Dawn rolled her eyes, sighing in exasperation. "Boys are so thick," she muttered, pulling him into another kiss.

Paul grinned and picked her up, one hand around her waist and the other under her knees.

"Paul! Put me down!" Dawn squealed, wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Sorry. I guess I'm too _thick_ to understand," Paul said evilly, smirking. All at once, Paul felt his insecurity draining away. _This is easy,_ he thought, breathing in Dawn's perfume. Vanilla. _More than easy. _

Dawn sighed dramatically. "Oh, well. Then I guess I'll have to go find some other guy to kiss."

"In case you haven't noticed, you're kind of trapped," Paul pointed out, pulling her closer to highlight his point.

Dawn smiled and kissed him again. "I'm not too concerned."


End file.
